White men marched on Charlotttesville with *torches* yesterday. I say it again: torches.

What clearer signal could they have given the world about their motives than to arm themselves with the fiery instrument of so many previous historical abuses? So as they march, be clear. They’re carrying more than torches. They’re carrying with them the same hostile spirit that burned crosses in families’ yards and engulfed churches in flames. Make no mistake. They–who have never had to wake up in fear, clutching their children as flames erupted in their yards–are fighting to modernize hood wearing and ensure hostility and violence passes into this generation that your children and grandchildren will grow up in.

When we see these images of angry faces and fire, we need to respond with more than the mild rebukes of President Trump who chides “many sides.” And in the absence of a clear moral stand and a complete denunciation of racism from our leader, we the people must offer it.

Our founding documents may say things like all men are created equal, but every generation has had to rise to act to ensure this ideal remained strong. Our grandparents and great grandparents eventually stood up to be counted, to challenge the symbol these torches and fire represent. They fought in the civil war, they forged forward on the many fronts of the civil rights movement, so that torches like these wouldn’t have a place in the future we’re building.

I pray the people will speak up in every corner in every community of our country today and send a message that these hundreds of torch bearers are alone in their commitment to the past. And that the ocean of voices that rise from those of us who think differently will put out these torches once and for all.